Cheerleaders and Nerds
by Chrmdpoet
Summary: Regina Mills is at the top of the high-school food chain-attractive, popular, and head cheerleader. Emma Swan is at the bottom-the class's biggest nerd whom the popular kids just love to tease. Regina, however, harbors a secret crush on the nerdy blonde. Will she defy the high-school hierarchy and risk her reputation to be with Emma? High School AU. Rated T, subject to change.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is a little mini fic that was prompted to me on tumblr. It started out as a drabble, but then I received so many requests to continue, that it has now become a running mini-fic. The prompt was: "High School AU. Popular girl, Regina, has a crush on the pretty, nerdy blonde."**

**I will update a new chapter every time I build up a few new drabbles to compile together. I hope you all enjoy this quirky little ride. XO-Chrmdpoet**

Cheerleaders and Nerds

Chapter One

"Oh god," Kathryn laughed out, tapping Regina's shoulder as they loitered around their lockers in the school hallway. Regina whirled around at Kathryn's touch and exclamation, her cheerleading skirt and her high ponytail swishing as she turned. Kathryn pointed down the hall at a blonde girl that Regina easily recognized.

"Nerd alert!" Kathryn exclaimed, still laughing.

Regina forced out a laugh, too, as the other cheerleaders hanging around them all burst into a chorus of giggles. She didn't want to seem uncool, but when the nerdy blonde girl walked slowly past them, head ducked and hair in a messy ponytail that bounced as she walked, Kathryn reached out and knocked the girls' books from her arms. That was too much for Regina.

The other girls erupted into laughter as the blonde's books tumbled to the ground and she let out a soft sigh before simply bending to pick them up. Regina forced out a quiet laugh before saying, "Let's go to class guys," and when the girls walked off, she acted like she forgot something and went back.

When the other girls were out of sight, Regina quickly bent to help the blonde retrieve her dropped items. "I'm sorry about that," she whispered quietly to the girl. "They shouldn't have done that."

The blonde looked up at her then, her cheeks flushing a light pink as she reached up to push her black-rimmed glasses up on her nose. "You laughed."

Regina hung her head a bit. "I…I'm sorry."

"It's okay," the blonde told her. "You're Regina Mills, the most popular girl in school. Can't risk your reputation to help the class's biggest nerd, right?"

"You're not…" Regina started, but didn't finish the sentence as the girl leveled her with a look that said it was pointless to argue and that everyone knew she was a nerd. Regina sucked in a breath, glancing around the hallway to make sure no one was around, before quietly admitting, "I think you're nice, Emma."

Emma's head snapped back up from her books then, her eyes widening and a goofy smile quirking at the corners of her mouth. "You know my name?" she asked softly.

It was Regina's cheeks that flushed then as she bit her lip and nodded. "I do."

* * *

Regina pinched the inside of her thigh, wincing at the pain, every time she broke her own rule. Every glance spared across the science lab where the nerdy blonde Emma Swan was seated earned her a pinch from her own fingers.

This was one of only two classes that they shared, though they sat on opposite ends of the room from one another. The seating chart was alphabetized by first name, and R was quite a ways down the line from E. Unfortunately, that made it so that Regina couldn't sit near Kathryn either, who was admittedly closer yet still rather far away.

Instead, she ended up stuck in a seat and lab partners with none other than the insufferable Ruby Lucas. The girl was a known goth, always in black, though her clothes were much skimpier than those of the other goths, various shades of red spilled throughout her hair, and constantly reeking of cigarette smoke. Regina despised her. For an hour and thirty minutes every day, she loathed her own first name for landing her in the seat beside the goth.

Regina pinched her inner thigh again as she caught herself sneaking a glance across the room to the messy blonde ponytail and the jungle-green eyes peering intently up at the teacher through thick-rimmed glasses. She didn't know why her gaze was always so drawn to the girl, and Regina would walk on glass before she ever admitted aloud just how often she found thoughts of Emma Swan swirling through her mind, but she knew it would be a problem if her friends ever realized exactly who she was always looking at.

It seemed that the day's run-in with the nerd had only made Regina's instinct to look at her increase. But god, she couldn't help herself. Something about the girl was so alluring, and Regina couldn't even begin to comprehend the way her heart always seemed to flutter wildly upon seeing her.

It had been that way for a few months now, maybe longer. She hadn't really been paying attention until recently, when she had glanced over at Emma to see that Emma was looking back at her.

The small, almost imperceptible smile that had quirked at the corners of the blonde's lips in that moment had completely captivated Regina, and from that moment on, she found herself looking more often, paying better attention. And every single time her friends picked on the nerdy girl, Regina wanted to crawl in a hole and hide.

She couldn't, though, and she couldn't tell them to stop either; at least, she didn't feel like she could. She was the head cheerleader, true, but she didn't want the other girls to think she was weak or somehow uncool for wanting to help out the nerdy blonde. She was at the top of the high-school food chain, and Emma Swan was at the bottom.

It was only natural that Regina should want to tear her to shreds for her own entertainment, for the nourishment of her own popularity. However, she didn't.

Without even realizing it, Regina had developed some strange form of attachment to the girl. She cared for her despite the fact that she hardly knew her at all.

* * *

Regina let out an audible sigh of relief when the bell rang shrilly to signify the end of class. She was out of her seat in seconds and practically sprinting toward the door, desperate to get out of the science lab and put some space between herself and Emma Swan, even though there had technically been an entire classroom between them all hour.

She apparently wasn't the only one eager to get out, though, because despite her rush, she still found herself in a throng of students all bustling out the door at the same time. Regina paid little attention to the students behind her or even beside her. Her focus was the freedom that the hallway would provide her, and so she nearly jumped with her surprise when a soft voice spoke from her right, nearer than she was comfortable with.

"Boredom or confusion?"

Regina's head snapped to the right, her ebony ponytail swishing around the side of her face with the motion. Her chocolate eyes instantly locked onto the deep forest green of Emma's, the very girl she had been trying to escape; or rather, had been trying to escape thoughts of.

"I…what?" Regina choked out, this time glancing around and behind them to see who was within earshot. She didn't see Kathryn anywhere near, meaning the blonde had likely already made it out the door, which helped Regina to breathe and relax a bit.

Emma giggled as she clutched her books against her chest with one arm and used her other hand to reach up and push her glasses up her nose, as she did frequently. Regina knew this because _she _frequently watched her do it. Regina's cheeks instantly flushed, the giggle from the blonde positively melting her, a reaction she neither understood nor appreciated. What the hell was wrong with her?

"You glance around a lot during class," Emma explained with a soft and shy smile. "Is it because you're bored or do you not understand the lessons? Because…I…" The blonde's own cheeks flushed a soft pink then as she ducked her head a bit and followed Regina out the door of the classroom, the crowd finally thinning. "I tutor sometimes."

"Oh," Regina said, shaking her head gently, her ponytail swishing with the movement. "I—"

"Regina, come on!" a voice cut in, and Regina turned to see Kathryn latching onto her elbow and jerking her away from Emma. She had apparently been waiting in the hall. Kathryn then glanced past Regina and curled her lip in disgust. "Ew, were you talking to _her_?"

Emma quickly shook her head at the panicked look in Regina's eyes and said, "No, she was just ignoring me." She then locked eyes with Regina once more, and Regina had to fight against the sudden stinging in her own eyes.

Emma had just covered for her, had basically just put herself down, and for what? To help Regina save face with her friend. That was the only explanation.

Regina watched Emma scurry down the hallway, her head bowed and her arms tightening around her books, until she disappeared around the corner at the end of the hall. She sighed heavily as she tried to swallow down the sudden lump in her throat before turning to follow Kathryn to their lockers.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you everyone for the wonderful reviews, support, and response to this story. I'm glad you are all enjoying it so far. XO-Chrmdpoet**

Chapter Two

Regina went through the rest of her day with a heavy heart, unable to shake the look she had seen in Emma's eyes as the girl had lied for her. A kind of accepted sorrow—as if Emma Swan was entirely accustomed to resigning, to being degraded. She was.

Regina could try to deny it. She could try to pretend that it wasn't like that, that it was just a bit of teasing, but she knew better. That girl had gotten the brunt of bullying since their sophomore year, and for what? For being dedicated to her grades? For being a member of every academic club available? For caring about more than just sports and gossip and name-brand clothing?

It wasn't right, the high school hierarchy. It was twisted and cruel, and Regina couldn't even openly admit that she hated it. She was a part of it after all, on the highest rung of the ladder, and while she never openly participated in bullying, she never spoke up to defend anyone either. Just because it was the lesser of two evils didn't mean it wasn't still evil.

That cold truth made her sick to her stomach, and she found herself unable to even focus during cheerleading practice—her favorite pastime. She didn't want to cheer, because she felt anything but cheerful. She felt like a monster, and all she wanted to do was go home, strip away her layers, and just…she didn't know.

Cry?

No. Regina had never been much of a crier. She hated it, positively abhorred that itching sting that would develop in her throat and behind her eyes every time she felt moved to weep. She avoided it as much as was possible.

She didn't know what she needed, maybe just some time to think, some time to regain her sense of self and let all of this go. Forget about those sad green eyes. Forget about the shy smile. Forget about those slender fingers pushing up black-rimmed glasses. Just forget about Emma Swan.

It seemed that fate had an entirely different plan for her, though; well, maybe not fate. More like Facebook, but still. Sometimes it felt like Facebook controlled the universe, so what the hell.

Regina was laying in bed later that evening, the hours passing rapidly as she finished up some homework, earbuds tucked into her ears and Kathryn's lame pop playlist echoing in her eardrums. Regina wasn't a huge fan of it, but she listened to it anyway. She didn't really know why, but it was like a part of her felt like she had to.

She was much more into alternative music, herself, but she rarely listened to it. Too many of the girls on her squad turned their noses up at that kind of music, always spouting off like, "Why's it so depressing?!" "God, slit my wrists already."

Regina didn't find that funny in the slightest considering they had actually lost a classmate their freshman year in that very manner, but still, those girls joked like that a lot. Sometimes Regina wondered how she ended up in that group at all.

She'd loved all of that mess so much more when she was younger. The first years of high school, Regina was so attached to popularity, to teasing the underdogs, to being the head bitch in charge, but the closer they drew to graduation, the more Regina found herself wishing she had taken a different path. Been a different person. A better person.

As she was finishing up her trig homework, a loud jingle rang out from her laptop on the table beside her bed. She glanced over to see that she had a new private message on Facebook chat.

Regina crawled across her bed and peered down at the blinking tab. As soon as she saw the name, her heart shot into her throat and stuck there roughly. Still, she found herself clicking the tab and opening the message.

**Emma Swan:** _Hello. I hope I'm not bothering you. I know that we aren't Facebook friends, and it's probably best that we aren't considering who you are and who I am, but I just wanted to say that I'm available if you need tutoring. We never finished our conversation today, so I wasn't sure if you did or not. Anyway, I won't take up your time. Just let me know. Have a good night._

Regina stared at the message for a long moment. A part of her was cursing the world for the fact that people who weren't her Facebook friends could still send her private messages, and yet another part of her was thanking the heavens that they could. It offered her a unique opportunity that she felt ashamed of even being remotely excited about.

She could talk to Emma without having to friend her. No one, not the other cheerleaders or jocks, would know that they were talking.

"No," Regina said quietly to herself. This was a bad idea. Bad idea. Bad idea.

And then her fingers were moving, tapping out a single word that she was fairly certain was the first nail in her high-school coffin.

**Regina Mills:** _Hey._

* * *

Regina stared at the single-worded message she had just sent against her better judgment, her mouth gaping at her own action. She face-palmed and let out a soft groan. Why? _Whyyyy _had she done that?

She reached to close her laptop, wanting to just put it out of her mind. If Emma Swan ever approached her about it, she would simply say it was an accident, or if the nerdy girl actually messaged her back, then Regina could just ignore it. Right?

That was definitely what Regina thought she _should _do. It was even what she convinced herself she _would _do, but then her laptop jingled again.

Regina's gaze shot straight to the screen, her heart racing uncomfortably at the little flashing green dot next to Emma's name that made it clear the blonde was online for chat. That little green light, though, was not nearly as daunting as the blinking bar that said Regina had received yet another message from the other girl.

Don't do it, Regina told herself. Just close your laptop and let it go. You shouldn't be talking to her anyway. It will only cause problems for you and for her. It is better to let it be. High-school hierarchies exist for a reason, don't they?

_Don't they? Of course they do._

Regina moved to close the laptop again, but instead found her hand hovering over the mousepad. And then she tapped.

The message popped up, and there was Emma Swan's tiny picture and Emma Swan's black-print name and Emma Swan's impossibly long-winded, unfairly adorable reply to a simple "hey".

**Emma Swan: **_Oh, hi there. I wasn't expecting a reply so soon, or if I'm being entirely honest, I wasn't expecting a reply at all. You ARE Regina Mills after all, haha, and I'm the person that all your friends like to make fun of so…you know…I'm a little surprised. I half-expected a group of cheerleaders to jump out of my closet and beat me with pom-poms just for messaging you. Hahaha. So, yes, definitely surprised. It's a good surprise, though. Don't get me wrong. I just am surprised, that's all. Wow, I just wrote 'surprised' entirely too many times. So, anyway…hi. Did you need tutoring?_

Regina laughed softy and then immediately perked up, glancing around foolishly as if she was afraid someone was watching her, able to see her laughing at the dorky yet adorable appeal of their class's biggest nerd. She instantly scolded herself for the reaction.

"Stop being so shallow, Regina," she muttered to herself. She was truly beginning to hate what high school had done to her, the way it had molded her outlook, shaped the way she interacted with others, made her afraid to befriend certain types of people. It was terrible and ridiculous, and she couldn't fathom why she continued to conduct herself in such a way; yet, she did.

Even if she could recognize that certain things were cruel or unfair or altogether stupid, there was a part of Regina that was terrified to step outside those things; as if all she was would merely crumble.

Regina's fingers itched atop the keys, her heart still pounding in her chest. Her mouth was dry as she bit at her bottom lip and contemplated how best to respond, because it was apparent to her now that despite knowing she shouldn't, she was _definitely _going to respond.

After one long, deep breath, Regina finally let herself type out a response. She tapped the enter button to send the message before she could stop herself, and was shocked by her own actions.

Because the message she sent was a complete and utter lie.

**Regina Mills: **_Maybe, yes. I might need a bit of tutoring._


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

"Oh god, what am I doing?" Regina groaned to herself. She had just completely lied in order to what? Possibly spend a little extra time with some girl she knew nothing about but for the fact that she was a blonde, a nerd, supposedly a foster child, crazy smart, needed new glasses, had scuffs on her shoes ALWAYS, and had split ends that needed trimming?

So why, for the love of all that was holy, was her heart pounding in her chest at the mere thought of private moments with Emma Swan? Why was her skin tingling at the idea of being able to hang out with the other girl without being judged? Because this could accomplish exactly that, couldn't it?

Regina could pass off the time with Emma as a requirement rather than something she actually wanted, and hopefully none of her friends would be any the wiser. God, Regina felt horrible just thinking these things, and yet she couldn't stop herself. Her curiosity had already crawled behind the wheel and was commanding the ship.

Full speed ahead apparently.

**Emma Swan: **_Oh, well that's great. I mean, no, that's not great. Obviously, it's not great that you need tutoring because that implies that you are not doing so well grade-wise. Not to say that you are doing poorly or anything. I just meant that it's great because I can help, if you're interested. Like I said, I tutor sometimes, and I've got some open slots if you would like some of them. If you would prefer it not be me, though, I can set you up with another tutor._

Regina couldn't help her smile as she read the message three times over, and before she could think on it, she found her fingers tapping out a quick response.

**Regina Mills: **_Do you always ramble this much?_

**Emma Swan: **_Yes, yes I do. I'm sorry. I swear I'm better when I'm tutoring. When I have a subject to focus on, it's easier to be clear. When it's just me and my thoughts, well…obviously, I tend to overdo it._

Regina actually giggled at that one, immediately rolling her eyes at herself afterward. Since when did Regina Mills act like a giddy teenager with a crush? Never. Not once. Not even over Kathryn's twin brother David, who just so happened to be the hottest and most popular guy in school.

Wait? Crush? No, no, this was definitely not a crush. This was just…tutoring. Tutoring that she didn't need. Unnecessary tutoring. Unnecessary tutoring with Emma Swan.

Damn.

**Regina Mills: **_I see. When are you free for tutoring?_

That's right, Regina. Keep it professional. Keep it business. Keep your stupid heart inside your stupid chest.

**Emma Swan: **_Wednesdays and Fridays are best. I typically tutor after school at my house, but if you prefer a more neutral location or a different time, that's fine, too. We could work before school in the library since it opens early or something._

Regina bit her lip so hard in that moment that she hissed in pain. She sucked at the sore spot to soothe it as her eyes scanned Emma's message over and over.

Her house? Her HOUSE?

**Regina Mills: **_I suppose your house after school would be fine. Wednesdays are better, because Fridays are game nights, so I will be unable to cancel cheer prep on those nights. I can put Kathryn in charge of the squad for practices on Wednesdays, though. _

**Emma Swan: **_Awesome! So, what subjects do you need help with?_

Regina froze at that question, because well…the honest answer was none of them. She was a straight-A student. Her GPA was perfect. In fact, she was fourth in their class.

What would actually make sense to say? Regina didn't have a clue, so she just chose two random subjects.

**Regina Mills: **_Chemistry and Art._

**Emma Swan:** _Art? That's a first. I'm not sure I can help with that._

**Regina Mills:** _Art History._

**Emma Swan:** _Oh yeah. That I can do. :) So, this Wednesday then? I can meet you after school in the quad._

Regina hesitated for a long moment. How was she going to pull this off? She couldn't tell her parents she required tutoring, because one, it was a lie, and two, her mother would flip her lid. And she would definitely have to tread lightly where the other cheerleaders were concerned, especially Kathryn. The less everyone knew, the better.

Was she seriously doing this, based on nothing more than a gut reaction to a person she hardly knew?

Regina let out a shaky sigh as her fingers moved again.

**Regina Mills: **_Yes. _

Yes, yes she was.

* * *

After the final bell rang on Wednesday to signify the end of the school day, Regina hovered inside the school much longer than was usual or even natural. She lingered in the girl's bathroom for a while after collecting her things from her locker, but unable to squash her curiosity, she quickly moved to the hallway. She took fast, nervous steps down the hallway and toward the main entrance of the building that led out into the quad where Emma Swan was supposed to be waiting to meet her.

Regina glanced around to ensure that no one was around to see where she was looking or why. More specifically, she wanted to ensure that no one who was anyone important was hanging around and would be able to see her go out to meet the nerdy girl that could potentially earn her relentless questioning, teasing, or worse from her friends. There was no one.

She had lingered long enough that basically every student was gone, except those who remained for after-school activities, like the members of her beloved cheerleading squad. Thankfully, though, cheerleading practices took place in the activities field behind the school. None of the squad would be near the front of the building at this point.

Regina had actually been surprised by how easily it had been to pass off practice to Kathryn. The blonde hadn't actually questioned her much about it at all, simply thrilled to get to step into the captain's shoes for a day. Regina had expected to be drilled about skipping practice, but then again, she had also built up a bit of a reputation for squashing people like a bug who dared question her authority; at least where cheerleading was concerned. Kathryn knew this. The entire squad did.

Maybe that's why Kathryn hadn't been more inquisitive. Or maybe she just didn't care. Either way, it played to Regina's advantage.

Regina hadn't even bothered to tell her mother about the unnecessary tutoring or her plan to spend a little time with the likes of Emma Swan. She merely decided to let her mother believe that she would be late returning home because of cheer practice, like always.

She would definitely have to come up with a plan, though, if this tutoring became a regular thing. Oh god, Regina could not even believe that she was considering the possibility of continuous unnecessary tutoring. She was still completely shocked that she had agreed to even one session.

What the hell had she been thinking?!

Regina's heart pounded forcefully in her chest as she peeked out the door of the main entrance and saw the familiar blonde girl leaning against a large oak tree in the quad. Emma's hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail with a dated black scrunchy. Her black-rimmed glasses were pushed up on her nose, which was scrunched as Emma glanced down at a second-hand cell phone, no doubt to check the time.

Regina had lingered a little longer than necessary, but it was taking all the internal pep talk she had in her just to work up the courage to exit the building and meet the girl in the quad. She might find no one to meet, though, if she didn't move soon. Surely Emma wouldn't hang around much longer?

"Okay, Regina, just go," Regina muttered under her breath. "It's just a girl. You can go and talk to a girl for god's sake. Just go."

She sucked in a sharp breath and forced herself to move then, stepping out of the safe haven that the school had become in the last hour, and into the harsh afternoon sun.

The girl with the golden hair turned as she approached, and a bright smile lit Emma's face. It was a smile that made Regina's toes curl in a way she was not even remotely prepared to contemplate.

_Just a girl_, Regina reminded herself, the thought racing through her mind, but she didn't believe it for a second. Because if Emma Swan was just another girl, then why in the hell did she feel like so much more?


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thank you everyone for the wonderful response to this story so far. I'm so glad that you all are enjoying it! I greatly appreciate all of your support and reviews. Enjoy! XO-Chrmdpoet**

Chapter Four

"Hey," Emma said brightly as Regina approached, the cheerleader's chocolate ponytail swishing with every step. Emma chuckled and added, "I was starting to think you stood me up."

"This isn't a date," Regina snapped before she could stop herself. The fear that someone, even though she had already ensured that no one was around, might have overheard and misinterpreted their meeting caused a spike of fear to rip through her chest. Guilt instantly flooded through her system, her cheeks blushing crimson as Emma frowned and nodded quickly.

"Right, yeah," Emma said, clearing her throat and clutching the strap of her messenger-style backpack tighter. Her first response had been instant anger. Regina's tone had offended her, but as soon as she saw the way the brunette had glanced around the quad timidly, Emma's anger quickly faded.

It wasn't that she thought it was okay for Regina to be ashamed to be seen with her. It wasn't even that she wasn't hurt by that, because in a way, she _was, _despite how accustomed she was to that kind of behavior. It was more that she understood it.

She didn't appreciate it or even condone it, but she did understand. She knew how hard it was to break the high-school molds they all had been shaped into. It wasn't as easy as saying, "Oh hey, I'll do whatever I want and screw anybody who has a problem with it"; at least, not for most kids.

It sucked being at the bottom of the popularity totem pole—Emma knew that much from experience. People teased her and called her names. They knocked her books out of her hands and complained about her being a teacher's pet and a brown-noser. She wasn't. She just did her work and did it well.

So, yeah, it sucked, and there was no way that Regina could even begin to imagine what that was like. At the same time, though, Emma couldn't even begin to imagine what it was like for Regina either. People always thought the popular kids had it so easy, and in a lot of ways, they did, but in other ways, they were under perhaps even more scrutiny than the non-popular kids.

At least the nerds stuck together—the goths, the band geeks, the mathletes, the quiz-bowl goons, the burn-outs. All those cliques were at the bottom in varying degrees, but they all also stuck it out together. It wasn't like that at the top. They were all predators at the top, and at any given moment, you could be a glorified member of a powerful pride, and in the next, you were being eaten alive by your own clique.

Emma could only imagine how intimidating that would be. Those at the bottom could hardly ever rise above, but they also couldn't go any lower. Those at the top, though? They never fell just a few feet. When they fell, they hit the bottom and there was no going back.

Served them right, Emma often thought. They deserved a taste of their own medicine. At the same time, though, Emma could definitely appreciate the fear that sort of life must induce. She could see it now, that fear, swirling in Regina's eyes—at constant war with something else, something lighter, something better.

The girl's will to be kind. Regina's desire to actually communicate with her. Emma could see it as clear as day, and that's what obliterated her anger. She could appreciate Regina's struggle, because as long as the girl was struggling, it meant that she was hopefully on the right path.

"I'm sorry," Regina said quietly, surprising Emma. "Snapping at you, I shouldn't have done that."

Emma smiled softly at her and nodded. "Okay," she whispered. "Ready to go then?"

Regina glanced around once more, cursing herself for having to do it at all, and nodded. "Yes, we should go."

Emma sighed as she turned and started heading toward the road, Regina on her heels. "You know," the blonde called over her shoulder, smirking despite Regina's inability to see it, "you could always just meet me at my house on Wednesdays if it's a problem to be seen with me. We don't have to walk together. I wouldn't want to damage your precious reputation or anything."

Regina flushed crimson from her forehead to her collarbones. In that moment, she wished she could melt into the earth and disappear. It was pointless to even try to deny it, because it was completely true and Emma was entirely too smart to buy any lame excuse that Regina could produce on the spot.

So, instead of wallowing around in her guilt, Regina steeled herself and quickened her pace. She shot up to Emma's side, hardened her expression, and turned the conversation back around on the nerdy girl. "Don't be ridiculous," she said, clearing her throat because the words had come out just a tad bit choked. Her cheeks were still a rosy red, but she carried on with the false confidence. "You could hardly damage my reputation."

"Uh huh," Emma chuckled, snorting mockingly.

Regina merely scoffed and tossed her head to the side, her high ponytail jerking from side to side. "Besides," the brunette added cockily, "being seen with me could actually _help your_ reputation."

"Uh huh," Emma laughed out again, a teasing smile pulling at the corners of her lips. "I'm sure you're so concerned with _my _reputation."

Regina turned to glance at her then and saw Emma's playful smile. Her heart fluttered madly, and Regina cursed its weakness. She rolled her eyes, internally berating herself for having gotten into this mess in the first place, and determined not to speak to Emma again until they reached the blonde's house.

For all her hardened exterior, though, Regina's insides were soft and positively wired. She didn't know how long she would be able to keep up her defenses. Her brain screamed _ABORT! ABORT!_

But she never left Emma's side.

* * *

Regina's heart hammered madly in her chest as she and Emma made their way through town and began closing in on a particular house. It was a quaint old house located in what many of Regina's friends referred to as "the slums", or the poorer side of Storybrooke. The house was small and in need of a few updates, but cute nonetheless with its pale yellow shutters, colorful welcome mat, and multiple bird feeders hanging about.

Regina, though a bit uneasy due to the fact that she had never actually been in the slums outside the interior of her mother's car, was actually quite pleased to know that Emma's house was located there. It _greatly _lowered the chances of her being seen by anyone who might really make a difference, which meant that she might be able to keep her 'tutoring' sessions a secret a little longer than originally anticipated.

She was keeping her fingers crossed. And her toes. And her damn eyes. If it could be crossed, it was crossed.

"So, this is my place," Emma said as they climbed the stairs of the porch and headed for the rickety screen door.

"It's..." Regina hesitated for only a moment, trying to think of a proper compliment to provide. She finally settled on "...lovely."

Emma chuckled. "It's small," she said, rolling her eyes. "That's what you were really thinking."

"I was thinking nothing of the sort," Regina denied. Her flaming cheeks gave her away though.

Emma pinned the brunette with a knowing look as she fished for her keys to unlock the door, so Regina huffed out a sigh and said, "Very well. Yes, it is small, but that does not mean that it isn't also lovely."

"Yeah, I guess," Emma said, giggling a bit. She unlocked the door, and it squeaked as it slung open. She stepped inside and motioned for Regina to follow. "Come on in."

"Thank you," Regina said with a nod before taking a tentative step inside, her chocolate eyes instantly taking in all of the detail. The place was even homier on the inside. It had what Regina could only describe as a "grandma" feel about it. There were doilies on the coffee table, the couch was a tad bit moth eaten, though still quite usable, and the television was one of those old-school big box sets.

She expected the place to smell of dust or mildew, but as a wonderful surprise, it actually smelled incredible inside the small house-like baked goods.

Chocolate-chip cookies? Regina thought. It made her stomach rumble audibly.

Emma giggled at the sound. "You want a snack or something? There are cookies."

"What kind?"

"Chocolate chip," Emma told her, and Regina smirked. She loved being right, even if it was only inside her mind. "We made them last night."

"Very well," Regina answered, offering Emma a small smile, "but only one. Thank you."

"How does anyone eat only one cookie?" Emma asked her, arching a brow as she motioned for Regina to follow her toward the kitchen.

"Cheerleaders must keep in shape," Regina told her without really thinking, as if it was her go-to automated response to all questions involving sweets.

Emma hummed in response before throwing a few cookies onto a plate for them to share. "Well, you look like you're in pretty great shape to me," she said with a smile as she held the plate out toward Regina.

The brunette blushed, her stomach flipping at the compliment. She cleared her throat as she reached out and took one of the cookies. "That's because I never eat more than one," she managed to choke out, and then Regina shocked the hell out of herself by offering the blonde a cute little wink.

Oh, what the hell are you doing, Regina? Stop making a fool of yourself.

She was pleasantly surprised to see Emma's cheeks tint to a soft pink, though.

"So, should we go up, then?" Emma asked after an awkward moment of silence in which both girls merely stood in front of the kitchen counter, munching quietly on one cookie each.

"Up?" Regina asked, swallowing a little too soon. The too-large chunk of cookie stung as it went down her throat, but she managed not to audibly choke and embarrass herself, which she was thankful for.

"Yeah," Emma said, laughing awkwardly as she scratched her messy ponytail before pushing her glasses up on her nose. "To my room."

"Oh," Regina said, and now her heart felt like it might just burst through her rib cage at any minute and make a hormonal teenage mess all over Emma's kitchen floor. She wished it would stop thundering so hard, because the harder it beat, the more Regina feared that Emma would hear it.

Stop being such a weirdo, Regina scolded herself before licking her lips, nodding quickly, and saying, "Right. Okay. Sure."

She witnessed Emma's goofy, adorable grin for only a moment before the nerdy girl was trudging up the creaky steps to the second floor, Regina timidly following behind.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

The floor creaked heavily as Regina followed Emma up the stairs and into the blonde's bedroom. Regina wasn't surprised to find that it was quite small. In fact, the entire bedroom was just a smidgen larger than Regina's bedroom _closet_, which for some reason made Regina feel guilty all over again.

_Stop feeling guilty_, she told herself. _It's not my fault that my parents have a lot of money and hers don't_.

Ugh, she even felt guilty for thinking _that_.

Every second that Regina spent with Emma Swan had her seriously questioning her sanity. What the hell had she been thinking, getting herself into all of this? She was risking her reputation and apparently her hormones (because she felt like she might just overheat and explode any minute from _blushing_ alone) by simply being in the same breathing space as the nerdy girl, let alone actually _at Emma's house_.

This entire thing was completely murder-fricking-suicide, and Regina was actively playing a role. She had organized the entire damn thing. If she had any clue what was good for her, she would muster up the strength to just turn on her heel and leave.

Instead, though, Regina followed Emma to the bed.

The cheerleader rolled her eyes as she dropped down onto the springy mattress. _Weak, _she berated herself. _So weak. _

Regina avoided looking at Emma while the nerd shuffled around at a rickety old wooden desk, pulling out a few notebooks, writing utensils, and other things. She focused, instead, on the room she now found herself in.

The walls were painted robin's-egg blue, which Regina found to be a little too childish for a seventeen-year-old girl, but then again, she figured Emma's mother or foster mother or whatever had chosen it rather than Emma herself. The room was surprisingly bare of belongings, and had Emma not told Regina that it was her bedroom, the brunette would never have assumed this to be a teenager's bedroom.

For most teens, their bedrooms were their sanctuaries and easily communicated their personalities or the trends that they were into, but not Emma's room. There wasn't much in the nerdy girl's room besides the bed, the old desk, a dresser, a black bean bag, and a small bedside table. There weren't any posters or pictures on the wall. There wasn't a mess of clothing on the floor, and given that Emma's small closet door in the corner of the room was wide open, Regina could see that there weren't many clothes in there either. There really wasn't anything in the room to express Emma's personality.

In fact, the room easily could've passed as a guest room—impersonal and rarely used. The only personal touch that Regina could see in the entire room was what looked like a hand-knitted throw peeking out from beneath the blonde's pillow. It was white with purple lace, and it had the name Emma embroidered across it. It was beautiful, but it was quite literally the only visible thing in the room that seemed to be even remotely personal.

Regina found that absolutely fascinating, and even though she wasn't entirely sure why, it also saddened her a bit. Why was Emma's room so bland? Where were all the things the blonde loved? Where were the personal touches? Where were the expressions of self that should have decorated the blonde's little sanctuary? Where was _Emma_ in this empty room?

* * *

"So," Emma said, startling Regina and bringing the cheerleader back to the moment, "how's it feel to be on the poor side of town?"

Regina was rather taken aback by the question as a smirking Emma plopped down on the bed beside her with several supplies. The few times that she had seen others interact with the nerd at school, and the even fewer times that Regina herself had interacted with her as of late, Emma had seemed quite shy. Now that they were outside the walls of Storybrooke High, though, it seemed that the blonde was a tad bolder and quite witty. She had a way of putting Regina on the spot and making the brunette feel entirely out of her element.

Regina cleared her throat roughly. "Uh…" she muttered, which she found completely mortifying, because she never muttered. At least, she tried to never mutter. Every time she did, she heard her mother's voice in her head telling her that only undignified and uneducated people mutter. However, it seemed that the adorable enigma that was Emma Swan could cause her to mutter on a regular basis. "I feel fine," she finally finished.

Emma only continued to smirk at her, and Regina's cheeks felt as if they were on fire. "I'm not as judgmental as you might think," Regina huffed out after a moment.

"So you know what I'm thinking now?" Emma teased, grinning wickedly at the brunette across from her. "When did I ever call you judgmental?"

"You assume I am because of my upbringing," Regina said simply. "That is why you keep baiting me, first with the comment about your house being small and now with the comment about me never having visited this part of our town. Why bait me unless you expect me to be judgmental and snobby?"

Emma arched one thin brow at the cheerleader. "You're good," she said after a moment, chuckling. "You're right. I was baiting you, and I'm sorry, but I've dealt with a lot of rich, popular kids, and I just wanted to make sure that you weren't here as a prank to humiliate me or something."

Regina's heart clenched painfully in her chest, and she closed her eyes as she sucked in a gentle breath and released it in a sigh. She couldn't bring herself to linger on the thought of this girl basically just assuming that she was being set up for humiliation. It was too heartbreaking to even consider; thus, Regina took a breath and let it go.

She opened her eyes and locked them hard onto Emma's. "I'm not perfect," Regina told her, "and I _can_ be a bitch. That's no secret, but I would _never_ do that."

Emma held her gaze for a long moment before letting out another awkward chuckle to eradicate the growing tension between them. She rubbed at the back of her neck as she nodded gently and said, "You know…I think I believe you."

Just like that, Regina's heart went from shriveling in its own throbbing ache to swelling into a bright red balloon on the verge of bursting with joy. Her emotions were going to get her killed, by sheer over-feeling alone. This was getting legitimately ridiculous, and the worst part was that Regina didn't even understand it.

It had to be some sort of attraction. Of that, she was certain. There was no way she was merely intrigued by a person she knew absolutely nothing about to the point of creating an elaborate scheme to be around said person on a more regular basis. Nope. She was definitely attracted to Emma Swan.

That part didn't freak her out too much. She didn't do an almost daily google-image search of Angelina Jolie just to admire the woman's clothing choices, okay? Regina was fully aware that she had a taste for the ladies, even if she had never acted on it. It was more that the attraction felt like it extended beyond one of a purely physical nature, and that's what confused her.

She didn't even know this girl, yet she somehow also felt like she did. Maybe it was that little flicker of loneliness she sometimes saw in the girl's green eyes from across the room or while passing her in the hallway. Whatever it was, it made Regina feel like a damn buzzing wasp.

And Emma Swan was the bug lamp.

In other words, Regina desperately wanted to be closer to her, but she was pretty positive that it would mean her entire reputation and life disappearing in one loud, resounding, and painful _ZAP!_

"So, Chemistry, right?" Emma asked after a moment, and Regina blinked several times, confused.

Oh right. The tutoring. The unnecessary tutoring.

"Yes," the cheerleader answered. "Shall we start there?" She reached for her own bag and pulled her Chemistry book from its clutches.

Emma giggled as she shook her head. "Yes, Regina," she said in her best imitation of a prim and proper voice, "yes we _shall_."

Regina glared at her playfully, pursing her lips to keep from laughing. "Watch it," she said.

Emma just grinned at her. "What do you want me to watch?" the blonde challenged, and Regina's heart just dropped right into her stomach and burned and burned and burned, before sinking further and sending that flame straight between her legs. It shocked and irritated Regina at the same time, because she was certain her cheeks were as flaming as her lady parts in that moment, and she was really, REALLY trying to keep her cool.

_Oh god_, she thought, groaning internally. _This fricking nerd is going to be the death of me._

Emma thankfully saved her from having to reply. The blonde chuckled lightly and passed a notebook over to Regina. "Let's just start with this week's lesson, yeah?"

Regina swallowed thickly and readied her pen. "Sure," she whispered, hating how breathy her voice sounded with the singular word.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: For those wondering or requesting, the chapters will not be any longer. They will all range between 1500 and 2000 words. This is because, as I stated in my Author's Note in chapter one, this story is written in short bursts/drabbles on tumblr by request. When I collect two or three drabbles, I compile them into one of these chapters and post it here. You would be waiting quite some time for updates any longer than these, as I cannot work on my tumblr prompts as often as I would like to. I hope that explains it for any of you wondering, and I hope you will all still enjoy the story as is. Please take care, and enjoy! XO-Chrmdpoet**

Chapter Six

Regina could practically feel the boredom bubbling in her veins. She was certain that all of her blood would dry up with it at any moment, and she would simply crumble into a pile of dust on Emma Swan's bed. How in the hell had she ever thought that she would be able to endure two hours of unnecessary tutoring every week?

It was like slow torture, listening to Emma drone on about the hows and whys of whatever the hell it was that they were currently focusing on. The only saving grace of any of it was how adorably excited Emma seemed to get about the subject, or any subject for that matter. The girl just really seemed to enjoy learning and teaching.

The nerd's little puns and jokes throughout were laughably bad, but Regina couldn't help but to laugh at the cute way that Emma cracked up at herself and actually slapped her knee a few times after a joke.

"Uh...Regina?"

Regina's head snapped up from where it had been lolling in the palm of her hand while her elbow rested on her leg. Her eyes were wide as she stared at Emma's concerned expression. "I'm sorry," Regina said quickly. "What?"

Emma simply smiled at her. "I just asked you if you understood the equation or if you needed me to go over it with you once more."

"Oh, right," Regina said. "I think-"

"It's okay if you're having trouble with it," Emma said, cutting in to reassure her. "This stuff isn't always easy to get the first time, all of this math mixed in with the science."

Regina laughed awkwardly, thankful that Emma had basically given her an out, because she obviously couldn't just tell the blonde that she hadn't heard her due to having been nearly asleep from boredom. That would give away just how easily Regina _did,_in fact, understand the equation. Then again, part of Regina wanted to just come clean.

Somehow, she didn't think that something along the lines of, "Of course I get it. I have an A in this class. I'm only here because your strange yet adorable nerdy allure haunts my dreams," would go over very well with the other girl.

So, instead, Regina cleared her throat and tried to look sweetly embarrassed as she said, "Yes, I would much rather the two subjects remain separate. There should be math, and there should be science, not-"

"Math-y science," Emma cut in, giggling as she finished for her. "Or science-y math; whichever."

Regina grinned at her, rolling her eyes and letting out a soft chuckle. "Right," she agreed, and Emma just nodded.

"If it makes you feel any better," the blonde said, "I sometimes fall asleep in this class."

Regina grinned slyly at her before saying, "No you don't."

"Uh huh," Emma argued, nodding frantically.

"No you don't," Regina said again, laughing. "I wa-" She quickly cut herself off with a rough clearing of her throat. She absolutely had NOT just almost admitted that she would've known because she _watches _her.

One should never reveal one's stalker-y habits to the subject of said habits whilst one is attempting to...

What the hell _was _she attempting to do? _Woo _her? Nope. There was no wooing going on. _Seduce _her? No. Regina was fairly certain that all of her awkward moments of muttering and nervous laughter amounted to the opposite of a calculated seduction.

So, honestly, Regina didn't have a clue what she was trying to do, but she knew that the fact that she liked to watch Emma from across the Chemistry lab was a fact better kept secret than put on display.

"I, uh," she muttered after clearing her throat. "I doubt the smartest student in the class would ever sleep through a lesson."

Emma pushed her glasses up on her nose as her face scrunched with her smile. "But I do!" she laughed out. "I mean, I have."

"I don't believe you," Regina teased, returning the girl's smile. "I bet you sit up perfectly straight in your chair with your pen at the ready and your eyes all wide and eager, nodding with each detail as you take notes. I bet your academia-loving heart pitter-patters with every lesson."

Emma chewed at her bottom lip, her cheeks red, before she burst into laughter, and Regina followed after. Regina's own heart fluttered wildly in her chest with the sound of the girl's laughter and the smile that had bloomed across Emma's lips.

Regina had accomplished many things in her young life. She had sporting trophies, academic medals and certificates, and even pageant trophies from when she was younger, but in that moment...

In that moment, evoking such a beautiful sound from such a beautiful girl was the one achievement that Regina was most proud of.

* * *

"Okay, fine," Emma laughed out. "So, I only ever fell asleep twice, and both times I had a migraine."

"See," Regina teased. "I was right. You are too good of a student to sleep through class."

"Hey, it's not like that's a bad thing," Emma told her. "My grades might help me get a good scholarship; hopefully more than one."

Things fell quickly into place for Regina then, realization touching her in ways that ached. Emma was a smart girl, but she was also incredibly driven because she had to be. If Regina was a poor student, she could afford to be. Her parents could afford to pay for her education, but Emma didn't have that luxury.

That had to be a large part of the reason that the blonde worked her ass off to maintain a perfect GPA and keep her spot at the top of their class, which wasn't easy. Storybrooke High was a very academically challenging school. The curriculum was advanced, and while many of the students who had been at the school for years and years were accustomed to it and could sail through some courses, the level of difficulty often became apparent with transfer students. Many students who transferred in were failing courses within the first few months. Some quickly got it together, and others couldn't hack it and transferred back out or dropped into a lower class.

Emma Swan was the exception to this trend. She had only been at Storybrooke since their sophomore year, having transferred in from somewhere in Massachusetts if Regina remembered correctly, and the teachers had taken right to her. She wrote killer essays and always had at least five full pages of notes written out after every lesson. By the end of their sophomore year, Emma had floated up into the higher ranks of their class, and by the end of their junior year, she had taken the top spot.

And that was wonderful for Emma, but it had only earned her more teasing and bullying from the students who had been at Storybrooke for years and had been pushed from their ranks by the recently transferred foster kid in secondhand clothes.

Regina's heart ached as she realized that something that should earn Emma respect-the girl's motivation and desire to achieve and be more and create a successful future for herself-gained her nothing but knocks to her self-esteem, trips in the hallway, degrading comments, and worse.

"Hey," Emma said softly, shaking Regina from her thoughts. "You okay?"

"Yes," Regina answered quickly, her voice slightly strained. "I simply…um, which colleges are you interested in?"

"Any of them," Emma told her honestly, shrugging. "Hopefully I can get into a prestigious university, but I'm not going to hold my breath, you know? I will go where I can afford to go, and it's as simple as that."

Regina's skin was practically crawling. She felt so uncomfortable in that moment, yet Emma seemed perfectly fine with talking about the vast differences in their bank accounts and financial possibilities for the future. It didn't seem to set the blonde on edge at all.

"Anyway," Emma said, sighing, "I've seen _you _fall asleep in class a few times."

Regina's cheeks instantly flamed, and Emma chuckled at the blush. "Maybe that's why you need tutoring," the nerd joked.

With her cheeks still burning, Regina narrowed her eyes at the girl across from her and said, "Touché, Emma. Touché."

Emma cracked up at that. "Well, as long as you don't fall asleep during our tutoring sessions…"

Regina bit her bottom lip as she glanced down at her hands, which were unconsciously picking at Emma's bedspread. "I wasn't planning to," she answered quietly.

"Well, how could you?" Emma laughed out. "There's so much chemistry between us that it's impossible not to be totally in the moment."

Regina's head snapped up so fast that it audibly cracked. Was Emma actually…had she just…did _Emma_ feel it, too?!

Regina's insides felt like they were on fire as she registered the fact that the girl across from her was apparently more than aware of the chemistry that existed between them, that draw that Regina had felt for quite some time now.

_Oh god, _Regina thought. _Oh god, what do I do now? _

Should she agree? Should she make a move? Should she ask the girl on a date? No, she couldn't ask her on a date! What the hell was she thinking?

But then…

Emma snorted with laughter as she asked, "Get it?" The nerdy girl motioned to the Chemistry books and notes spread out on the bed between them then as she said, "There's so much _chemistry between us_. Get it?"

Regina's brain short-circuited as she gaped at the girl across from her while Emma guffawed at her own little pun. A moment ago, Regina had been elated to hear the blonde laugh. In this moment, though, Regina had nothing but a burning urge to smack the ever-loving hell out of Emma Swan.

She had nearly given herself away over a damn pun! Was it not enough that Emma was a nerd in the realm of all things academic? She just had to also be one of those nerds that loved to make corny jokes and laugh at herself.

It would have been stupidly cute if it weren't for the fact that it had nearly made Regina's heart explode and her panties catch fire.

Regina shook her head and let out a long sigh before saying, "Yes, Emma. I get it."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

"You look so bored."

Regina's cheeks flushed a soft pink as she looked up, Emma's words causing a flood of guilt to rush through her insides. "I apologize," the brunette replied quietly. "Art History is rather dull."

"It totally is," Emma agreed. "Then again, we hardly ever struggle with the subjects that excite us, right? The boring ones are always the hardest to stick with."

"I suppose that is true, yes," Regina said, smiling somewhat shyly. She felt like the biggest idiot in the world or the biggest asshole, or the biggest idiotic asshole.

This entire unnecessary tutoring thing had been the dumbest, most ridiculous idea, and Regina was completely embarrassed at having come up with it in the first place, let alone actually carrying it out. On top of that, she wasn't even being convincing. She wasn't making any moves or flirting (at least, not very well) or even taking this prime opportunity to ogle the adorableness that was Emma Swan. Instead, she was falling the hell asleep thanks to her lame teacher's even lamer art-history lessons.

She was failing Get-The-Girl 101 miserably, and Regina did not approve.

"Do you want to take a break or something?" Emma asked, laughing softly and snapping Regina out of her self-loathing thoughts. She didn't want to make Regina feel uncomfortable or guilty, but it was true that the cheerleader had appeared to be on the verge of sleep throughout most of their session thus far.

Emma wasn't entirely surprised, if she was being honest, because well, plenty of the other kids she had tutored had been much the same. They zoned out because they didn't quite understand the material. Emma could relate to that, but it wouldn't help them earn better grades. That's why she always tried to incorporate breaks or snacks or sometimes even fun little games to try to keep the tutoring sessions interesting and lively.

"Or I suppose we could go ahead and stop for the day," Emma added. "It's already been about an hour and a half already, so…"

Regina's heart sank into her stomach. She couldn't tell if Emma was hopeful that the lesson could be over or disappointed or entirely indifferent. It irked her on so many levels.

"Yes," she answered quietly, the word not much more than a whisper. "I suppose we could call it a day now."

"Okay," Emma said, smiling softly at the cheerleader. "Well, then I guess we can pick up with the next lesson next week then. You still want to stick with Wednesdays?"

Regina's stomach lurched as she toiled over what to say. Part of her wanted to confess. Part of her wanted to tell Emma that she wished not to continue with tutoring. The part of her that won out, though, simply said, "Yes, Wednesdays."

"Okay," Emma replied again. "Well grab your stuff then, and I'll walk you out."

Regina quickly gathered her things, her eyes stinging with her anger at herself. Why was she torturing herself this way? She should just leave and not come back, not talk to the girl again, and save herself the utter torment that Emma Swan's mere existence wreaked on her mind and her body. She should just stop all of this. She knew she should, but she couldn't, and Regina could not for the life of her understand why.

* * *

Regina followed Emma back down the creaking stairs of the blonde's little house and over to the front door. Emma smiled at her and asked, "Is one of your parents picking you up?"

The cheerleader simply shook her head, not wanting to admit that her parents didn't even know that she was there. "I'm walking," she answered after a moment.

"Oh okay," Emma said, still smiling.

Regina expected to say goodbye to the nerdy girl then and there, but before she could say anything at all, Emma moved right by her. She just opened the door and walked outside, one arm stretched backward to hold the door for Regina.

Regina stepped out and paused even as Emma closed the front door behind her and then headed down the steps of the front porch. The blonde then turned back and looked up at her, head cocked to the side. "You coming?" she asked.

"Yes, but…" Regina hesitated, shuffling from foot to foot before making her way down the steps of the porch and over to where Emma waited. "Where are _you _going?"

"Oh," Emma laughed out. "I'm walking you home, of course."

Regina gaped at the girl for a long moment before simply blurting, "Why?"

"Why not?" Emma challenged with a grin. When Regina continued to merely gape at her, Emma just sighed and said, "Look, it's going to start getting dark soon. I want to walk you home to make sure you get there okay and everything."

Regina's heart melted like a chocolate bar in the sun, sugar bubbling and spreading through her chest in every direction. "You would do that?"

"That's what I just said, isn't it?" Emma asked, grinning and chuckling. "Why are you so surprised?"

"I…" Regina paused, unsure of what to say in response. After a moment, she merely shook her head, cleared her throat, and said, "Thank you for the offer, but then you would be on your own for the return walk, and it likely _will _be dark by then."

"So?"

"So," Regina deadpanned, pinning Emma with a telling stare.

Emma just laughed. "I'll be fine," she told the cheerleader. "I used to…nevermind. Look, I can look after myself, alright? Please just let me walk you home?"

Regina stared at the nerdy blonde for a long moment, part of her desperately wanting to ask what it was that Emma had been about to divulge, but she also didn't want to push any boundaries or buttons. If Emma had elected not to tell her, then it was likely something that the blonde did not feel comfortable sharing. Regina respected that.

Everyone had secrets, and Regina was currently hiding a huge one. So, she could definitely accept that there were things Emma Swan did not want to share; at least, not yet. Maybe that would change, though.

Maybe a lot of things would change.

Regina rolled her eyes internally at the thought. She really needed to have a little chat with her inner optimist and tell that bitch to stop getting her into situations like this one with all of her hopeful thoughts and ideas. She really needed to let go of this delusion that she and Emma could become something more than two separate ends of a totem pole.

Still, she let out a soft sigh and nodded. "Okay then."

* * *

"So, where are _you_ going to college?" Emma asked as they walked along the mostly deserted streets of Storybrooke. It was a small town, and so everyone was pretty much home for the evening by no later than six o'clock. So, it wasn't incredibly surprising that at nearly five-thirty, it was already quieting down.

"I haven't yet decided," Regina told her. She started to divulge that she had already received early acceptance letters to a few ivy-league universities, but given the circumstances, she decided to keep that information to herself. "I imagine I will attend an ivy-league school," she admitted, though, "likely my father's alma mater."

"Which is?" Emma inquired.

"Princeton."

"Oh wow," Emma said, and Regina just nodded.

A silence that was surprisingly comfortable developed between them as they walked, and Regina wished she could close her eyes and just absorb it, but she wasn't willing to risk losing her balance and falling on her ass. So, she kept her eyes open and her face set forward, simply enjoying the moment as much as she could without outwardly showing it.

"What's it like?" Emma asked after a long moment, and Regina glanced over at her.

"What's what like?"

"Being up there," Emma said, sighing, "at the top of everything."

"Oh," Regina said, finally understanding. Emma wanted to know what it was like to be at the top of the high-school food chain. Regina hated the way that simple question made her feel like throwing up.

"Everyone loves you," the nerd continued, and Regina cut her off, scoffing.

"Being at the top does _not _mean that everyone _loves _me," Regina told her, seriously. "Some people are afraid of me. Some people respect me. Some people _like _me, but few people there actually _love _me. You can't truly love someone if you don't know them."

"What do you mean?" Emma asked, brows furrowing and the toes of her shoes scuffing against the pavement as they walked along the edge of the street.

Regina stayed quiet for a long moment, unsure of how to proceed. She was surprised by her little outburst, but at the same time, it had felt good to say it. "I just mean that so many of us hardly _know _one another as anything other than a fellow member of a particular club or clique," she finally explained after a moment.

"Oh," Emma said, nodding. "Yeah, I guess that's true. I'd never really thought of it that way before. Still, everyone wants to _be _you. That must be cool."

"Do _you_?" Regina challenged, glancing at the blonde again.

"Do I what?" Emma asked. "Do I want to be you?"

"Yes," Regina replied. "You said _everyone_."

Emma chuckled. "I'll admit that there are a lot of things about you and your life that I envy, even when I try not to."

Regina's heart clenched tightly in her chest. "It's easy to envy what we only ever see one side of," she answered in a whisper, and Emma stopped in the road beside her.

"Hey," the blonde said, reaching out somewhat hesitantly to touch Regina's shoulder. "I didn't…Sorry. I guess it's not always great to be at the top, yeah?"

Regina looked up then and locked onto those soft green eyes, falling into them dizzily. She took a deep breath and answered, "It definitely has its downsides."

Emma nodded, accepting that answer, before patting Regina's arm and turning to resume walking. They walked together in silence again until Regina could see her large mansion looming in the near distance. Their shoulders brushed and Regina felt a jolt of excitement ripple through her, excitement and strangely, comfort.

"Like putting down others who don't deserve it," Regina said quietly, seemingly out of nowhere.

"Huh?" Emma asked, confused.

Regina stopped in the road again and turned to face her. "One of the downsides of being at the top," Regina told her, "is that too many of us make a habit of putting down others who don't deserve it. People like _you_."

Emma gaped at the girl for a moment, but before she could respond, Regina cleared her throat and motioned ahead of them. "I can make it on my own from here," she told the nerdy girl, "but thank you for walking me home. That was sweet of you."

"Uh, yeah," Emma stuttered out. "Yeah, no problem. So, I guess I'll see you around then."

Regina smiled softly at her. "Yes, I suppose you will."

Without another word, the cheerleader turned and walked briskly away, her high ponytail swishing and her heart pounding with every step.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Regina slipped through the front door of her home and tried to quietly make her way up the grand staircase. She only made it up three steps, though, before her mother's voice drifted to her from the study on the first floor.

"Regina, dear."

It was low and silky, and Regina was always surprised at how easily her mother's voice carried throughout the house even though the woman never raised her voice above a soft, slithering serpent of a melody.

Regina knew better than to call back to her mother. Shouting out something like "What?!" would earn her a swat or two to the inside of her wrist, a smack to the cheek, or a grounding.

_Civilized persons do not raise their voices, Regina, nor do they speak in single-word sentences with no substance._

The number of lessons and mottoes that Regina had memorized from excessive repetition over the years had grown beyond the point of counting. To Regina, they seemed endless.

Regina took careful and quiet, but certainly quick, steps toward her mother's study.

_We do not stomp our feet when we walk, Regina. We are not cattle stampeding around, and thus, we will not act as such._

_Don't dally, dear. To be prompt is to be successful, for wasting time wastes opportunity._

Regina halted in the frame of her mother's open study door. The elder brunette woman was seated on a small love-seat by a large fireplace, glasses perched on the tip of her nose, and eyes scanning over a stack of papers in her lap.

"You called, Mother?" Regina said quietly.

Without looking up, Cora nodded. "Come sit, dear."

Regina did as she was told, lowering herself daintily onto the opposite end of the love-seat.

"How was school?"

Regina had to fight the urge to roll her eyes. Her mother never really cared about what was going on at school or how Regina's day went; at least, Regina didn't believe she did. It seemed the only time that Cora Mills took notice and seemed to care was when something out of the ordinary took place, or when the school attempted to make the students endure something that she did not approve of. Regina still shuddered every time she thought of freshman year when her class's science teacher asked them to create a PowerPoint Presentation on sexually-transmitted diseases, including photographs of cases of each. Regina had thought it perfectly acceptable, informative, and perhaps even preventative given how horrid some of the photos had been, but Cora had been positively appalled.

The Mills matriarch had lit up the next week's school-board meeting like a blazing wildfire, until all the parents were somehow just as riled up as she was. That science teacher was let go at the end of the year, and though the "official" reason had been something else entirely, everyone knew that Regina's mother had been the real reason.

Thankfully, none of the teachers took out their dislike of Cora Mills on her daughter. Regina was fortunate to be favored by many of the teachers simply because she was respectful and a good student, but she was also more than aware that several of the school staff tiptoed around her at times. She never, for example, had been denied a hall pass or bathroom break, and her suggestions for projects or benefits for various school clubs were _always _accepted.

* * *

"It was fine, Mother," Regina answered sweetly. "Thank you for asking. How was your day?"

"Quite productive, dear," Cora answered, looking up for only a moment to offer her daughter a quick tight-lipped smile. "How was cheerleading practice? Has Ashley improved her high kick?"

Regina's heart began to thud in her chest. She took a breath to try to calm herself down, because surely her mother had no way of knowing that she had skipped practice. No. No way. Everything was fine.

"It went well," Regina lied, though she was almost certain that it actually _had _gone well. Surely Kathryn would have been blowing her phone up if it hadn't. "Ashley has improved. The threat of being removed from the squad and replaced prior to the semi-final cheer tournament worked as well as you said it would. Her attitude improved as well, so that is a plus."

Cora smirked, and Regina had to fight the urge to do the same. She hated that sometimes she got a little thrill from being manipulative like her mother had taught her to often be. It almost felt like it was ingrained in her somehow—like it was a tiny black spot on her heart that no matter what she did, would never grow smaller or disappear. Whenever she found herself enjoying the successes that some small manipulations gained her, Regina always immediately felt disgusted with herself. Sometimes, she felt like her mother had tainted her, had perpetuated the attitude and idea of being better than everyone else.

Regina positively abhorred it.

Her father, Henry, wasn't much better either. He, at least, was rarely outwardly superior. He was more complacent and silent than anything. He let Cora do as she pleased, and he never challenged any of it.

This lifestyle made Regina sick. She didn't want to be superior. She just wanted to be happy.

"You see, Regina," Cora said, still smirking, "everyone has a weakness. Typically, it is love. Threaten whatever or whomever a person loves, and you will find them quickly changing their minds."

Regina swallowed the bile that shot up her throat at the wicked glint in her mother's eyes. She took a deep, steadying breath, closed her eyes, and quietly agreed. "Yes, Mother." She knew better than to argue her mother's point.

She could feel Cora's eyes on her for a long moment, and then the elder brunette quietly said, "Dinner will be in one hour, dear."

Regina recognized the statement for what it was—a dismissal. She nodded curtly and then rose from the love-seat and made her way quickly and quietly from her mother's study and up to her own bedroom.

* * *

Regina collapsed onto her bed, letting out a long sigh. She rested an arm over her eyes and took several deep, relaxing breaths until her stomach settled. She then reached for her laptop just as her cell phone jingled from her bag.

She grabbed her cell and checked the message. Kathryn.

_Hey bitch. 4got 2 ask. Y did u need 2 skip cheer 2day?_

Regina rolled her eyes, forever appalled at the horrid way her best friend texted. It was somewhere around the fifteenth time Regina had rolled her eyes that day, and that was a slow day. The cheerleader was thoroughly surprised that her eyes didn't just roll right out of her skull and splat onto the ground most days, because between the idiots at school, Kathryn's complete inability to recognize that the universe did not actually revolve around the popular kids at school, and her mother's outdated, cruel, and often completely stupid viewpoints, Regina's eyes were constantly in orbit. She believed it would be entirely appropriate to walk around with three giant letters sharpie-d onto her forehead.

_**FML**_

She rolled her eyes one more time before typing out a quick response.

_I had a prior engagement. In fact, I will likely be unable to attend cheer practices on Wednesdays from now on._

Literally less than ten seconds passed before her phone jingled with Kathryn's response.

_Wow, vague much?!_

Eye-roll number seventeen? Or something like that.

_It isn't important, _Regina replied. _It is an extracurricular that I have to do. I will be at every other practice, though. Furthermore, shouldn't you simply be thrilled that you get to captain the squad in my absence?_

Kathryn's reply was, again, immediate.

_Ha! Good pt, bitch! N-E-way, was just curious. Chill. Nothin bad, rite?!_

Regina did cave to a small smile at that. Kathryn had rare moments of showing actual care, and each one was greatly appreciated.

_No, nothing bad, Kathryn. I would tell you if it was. I have to go for dinner, though. See you tomorrow. XX_

Kathryn shot back a quick message. _Love ya! _And then Regina threw her phone to the side and reached for her laptop once more.

When she opened her Facebook tab, she was surprised to see that she had a blinking chat bar at the bottom of the screen. Her heart skipped a beat when she realized that that blinking bar was branded with Emma Swan's tiny picture and boldfaced name again. It positively thrilled her.

She quickly clicked to open the message, and the text inside nearly caused her heart to jump right out of her chest.

**Emma Swan: **_Hi again. I just wanted to let you know that I made it home safely. I mean, in case you were curious or…Anyway, so I was thinking that it might be best, you know since I will be tutoring you every week, if I give you my number. It's (617) 778-3849. So, there you go. That's my number. It's okay if you don't want to give me yours. I mean, I don't want you to feel like you have to give me yours or anything. It is perfectly fine if you choose not to. _

Regina smiled as she read the message over again. Emma's rambling somehow always managed to make her stomach flip in the most pleasant way, which Regina found so strange because when other people rambled, it only added to Regina's list of reasons to roll her eyes. She typically found it incredibly annoying. With Emma, though, it was almost endearing.

Regina bit her lip as she contemplated how best to respond to Emma's message, and then before she even really realized what she was doing, her laptop was off her lap, and her thumbs were tapping out a message on her phone.

_What area code is your number? I don't recognize it. Is it somewhere in Maine?_

A moment later, Regina's phone jingled with a response.

_It's Massachusetts._

Only about three seconds passed before Regina's phone jingled again.

_Wait a minute. Who the hell is this?_

Regina laughed out loud then, curling back into her pillow and grinning ridiculously at her phone.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Thank you everyone for all the continued support of this little story. It's been a joy to write thus far, and all of your follows, favorites, and reviews mean so much to me and are greatly appreciated. So, thank you. Enjoy! XO-Chrmdpoet**

Chapter Nine

Dinner was a boring affair as always. Regina listened to her parents ramble on about business this and town-gossip that. She answered the few questions tossed her way with her typical one-to-two-word responses, and ate her dinner as fast as she could without being reprimanded by her mother for eating like a "starved homeless savage." As soon as she shoveled the last bite into her mouth and swallowed, Regina dabbed at her mouth with her napkin and asked to be excused.

"Very well, dear," Cora said, nodding.

"Are you alright, Regina?" Henry added as the cheerleader rose from the table.

"Yes, Father," she answered with a tight smile. "Simply exhausted, is all."

He smiled softly at her. "Off to bed then."

"Yes sir," she answered. "Goodnight."

Both her parents echoed the word, and then Regina was walking slowly from the dining room. As soon as she was out of her parents' sight, she sprinted up the stairs and toward her room. She was eager to get back to the text conversation with Emma that she had had to simply leave hanging due to dinner.

As soon as Regina made it back to her room, she dove for her phone where she had stuffed it under the pillows on her bed. The smile that broke over her lips upon seeing that she had four unread messages from her nerdy tutor quickly fell when she opened the messages and saw the content.

_It's kind of crazy that Regina Mills is texting me. :)_

Regina had grinned at that one and at the next one as well, butterflies fluttering wildly in her stomach.

_So, tell me about yourself. What kind of stuff do you like to do other than cheerleading?_

Regina's smile faltered at the next one.

…_Regina? You still there?_

Then finally, Regina read the last one, and her stomach just plummeted.

_Sorry. I guess I thought we kind of hit it off and could be friends. I forgot for a moment that you were royalty and I'm just a lowly peasant. We will keep it professional from now on—just tutoring. Goodnight Regina._

Regina sighed as her chest clenched painfully. She rubbed at the spot in a pointless attempt to alleviate the pain as she let her phone fall to the mattress beside her. She turned on her side and faced the wall then, curling into a ball and closing her eyes.

* * *

The next day, Regina shot into the school, her high ponytail swinging viciously as she made her way quickly to her locker. She threw her bag inside her locker once she got there and then quickly checked herself over in the mirror that she had hung on the inside of the locker door. She had taken special care in her appearance that day, more-so than usual.

Regina rolled her eyes at the thought that the extra effort was for Emma, but well, it _was_ for Emma. She could deny as much out loud, but the truth sang like a canary inside her head.

Her makeup wasn't heavy. She never needed much and didn't like to clog her pores up anyway. Her eyebrows were freshly plucked. Her designer jeans made her ass look incredible, which only became more apparent as a few of the jocks passed by and whistled at her. She offered them a flirty smile as was customary from the girls on the squad, but that was all they had ever gotten or would ever get out of her. She had made that much very clear on more than one occasion.

She wore a silky crimson button-up over a black cami, the colors perfectly complementing the dark wash of her hair. Regina stared at her ponytail in the mirror for a few moments before scoffing and yanking the band from her hair. It cascaded in dark waves around her shoulders, all body and volume with no needed help from product. She ran her hands through it a few times, fussing over the thick mane. After a moment, she scoffed and began gathering it in her hands to pull it up again.

Just as she was about to band it again, though, a familiar face shot by her in the hallway. Regina dropped her hair as she whipped around and saw Emma Swan's back disappearing around the corner. It seemed that the blonde had been deliberately trying to avoid being seen by her.

Regina groaned and rested her forehead against the inside of her locker door. In that moment, she wanted to climb inside her locker, close the door, and just disappear from Storybrooke High for the day. Instead, though, she grabbed her books for first period, closed her locker, and took off down the hall before any of her friends had even arrived.

Conveniently, Emma's locker was on the way to Regina's first period class. She didn't know which specific locker belonged to the nerd, but she knew that Emma's locker was in the hallway that most of the popular kids referred to as "Loser Lane" because a lot of the academia and quiz-bowl nerds had chosen lockers in that hallway.

She could only hope that Emma was still at her locker. There was still a full ten minutes before classes even began, but Regina knew that most of the nerds were glued to their seats well before first bell. She let out a breath of relief when she turned the corner and saw Emma's blonde ponytail, large black scrunchie, and thick black-rimmed glasses before the girl's face disappeared behind the open door of a locker.

Regina glanced quickly around to see that but for a few students whose names she didn't even know, the hallway was mostly still deserted. Other than the nerds and jocks, not many students showed up to school early. Most of the nerds did because they did a lot of tutoring and club meetings before classes, and the jocks did because they typically either had early practices or arrived early to deposit their changes of clothes in their respective locker rooms for after-school conditioning.

Regina shot quickly down the hall, her gaze focused on Emma. She stopped just on the other side of Emma's open locker door and cleared her throat. A moment later, Emma's face popped out from behind the door, brows furrowed, and then those emerald eyes of hers widened considerably. She was completely shocked to find the most popular girl in school actually standing, stationary, at her locker with the very clear intention of speaking to her.

Emma glanced around the hallway, still unable to believe that this was happening, before looking back at Regina and saying, "Someone could see you, you know."

Regina gulped, her own gaze darting quickly around. "I don't care," she choked out. That was a lie. Still, she tried to make it at least _sound_ like it was the truth.

Emma didn't buy it. "I'm pretty sure that you do," the blonde argued.

Regina huffed out a breath and shuffled from one foot to the other. "Okay, so I do, but I'm here anyway, aren't I?"

A smile slowly began to form over Emma's soft features. Her green eyes practically sparkled as she let out a chuckling sigh and said, "Yeah. I suppose you are."

* * *

Emma shut her locker and leaned against it, clutching her math book over a plain black v-neck t-shirt. Her jeans were baggy, and her black converse were ratty and worn, but Regina thought the girl looked incredibly cute. Her eyes scanned up and down Emma's figure several times before the blonde cleared her throat, and Regina's entire face flooded crimson as her chocolate eyes snapped back up to Emma's face.

Regina bit her lip and looked almost pleadingly at the blonde as Emma dropped her smile and asked, "Did you want something, Regina?"

"I…" Regina hesitated, unsure of what she wanted to say. She honestly didn't even know why she was standing at Emma Swan's locker in the first place. What had her purpose been in going there? What had been her plan? Had she even _had_ a plan? The last ten minutes seemed like a whirlwind, and Regina's head swam dizzily as she attempted to contemplate it.

After a moment of toiling through her thoughts, Regina realized that she had nothing. No plan. No words. Nothing.

So, she just cleared her throat, smiled awkwardly, and said the first thing that came to her mind. "Your jeans are too big for you."

Emma gaped at her for a moment before snorting with laughter. "Duh," she said after a moment. "What did you _really _want?"

Regina bit her lip, her cheeks still a bright red as Emma smiled at her. She then let out a heavy breath, lowered her voice to a whisper, and said, "I _do _want to be friends." She bit her lip again and then added, "with you," just for clarification.

Emma's eyes widened just a bit before the blonde attempted to school her features. She didn't know whether to believe Regina or not. The girl seemed sincere, and if the extreme blushing and nervous fidgeting were anything to go by, Emma was fairly certain that Regina wasn't playing a prank on her. It seemed the girl was just a breath away from terrified, likely because her reputation would be on the line, but it meant something to Emma that Regina's feet remained rooted to the ground in front of her anyway, and willingly.

Regina, unnerved by the blonde's silence, tried again. She cleared her throat and practically hissed her next words. "I wasn't ignoring you last night. I had dinner with my parents. When I returned to my phone, it seemed you had jumped to conclusions and gotten upset. I thought it best to wait and inform you in person that it was a misunderstanding so that you could see that I'm being genuine."

Understanding sank in and Emma felt like a real punk in that moment. Regina was right that she had jumped to conclusions, and now she felt foolish for doing so. Emma knew she was well-founded in thinking that Regina likely hadn't wanted friendship, because the nerd was so used to being mistreated by the popular kids, but she had also seen that Regina wasn't like the rest of them. The brunette was kind, even if she did hide it from everyone else, and Emma felt a little ashamed of herself for having lumped Regina in with the rest of the jocks.

Emma swallowed thickly as she nodded. "Oh," she said simply.

Regina nodded in return, looking highly uncomfortable as she glanced around the hallway again. Any minute, Kathryn Nolan would come walking around that corner and see her standing there chatting with their class's number-one target, and then…well, Regina didn't even know _what _would happen, but she knew it wouldn't be good.

"Okay," Emma finally said after another moment of silence. "I'm sorry I jumped to conclusions. I guess I just assumed that you…"

"I know," Regina interjected, her tone soft and sad. "You were wrong, though."

Emma smiled softly at her, her cheeks tinting a light pink. "So I was," she agreed. She then glanced up at the clock on the wall, and realized the time.

"I had better get to class," the blonde said then, and Regina nodded frantically.

"I had better go as well."

"Okay."

They both lingered for another moment, just staring at one another, and then Emma smiled shyly, turned on her heel and darted away. Regina let out a breath that she hadn't even realized she had been holding, and her own smile tugged at her lips and at her heart. She glanced over her shoulder quickly before taking off down the hallway, thanking every god she could think of that Kathryn had chosen this day to drag her feet.

As she made her way to her first-period class, she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. Regina pulled it from her pocket and checked to find a text from the girl she had only just parted ways with. Her heart began to race as she pressed to open the message.

_You should wear your hair down more often. _

Regina bit her lip around a smile, her entire body electric in that moment. She then shoved her phone back in her pocket and practically skipped the rest of the way to class.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

While her Spanish teacher droned on about verb conjugation, Regina tapped her fingers lightly against her desk with her left hand as her right took to drawing doodles around the few notes she had taken. She rarely paid attention in this class given that she was already fluent in Spanish. It was an easy A, though, and the rest of Regina's coursework was rather heavy; thus, she had opted to take the class as a bit of a break from the heavier stuff. It didn't hurt, either, that foreign language studies looked excellent on a college application (as her mother had reiterated countless times since Regina's freshman year).

When the teacher turned her back, Regina felt something smack lightly against the back of her head. The cheerleader instantly whipped around in her chair, her signature fiery glare already blazing, and locked gazes with David Nolan.

The cocky jock grinned at her and pointed toward the ground. Regina looked down to see that what had hit her in the back of the head was a wadded up piece of paper that now sat in a ball by the back right leg of her chair. She bent swiftly and scooped it up, rolling her eyes. She shot another glare at Kathryn's ridiculous brother before turning back in her seat to face the front of the classroom.

Regina unfolded the wadded paper as quietly and quickly as she could to find a sloppily written note inside it.

_Meet me on the field before practice. -D_

Regina didn't know why but she found the note unsettling. She and David were good friends. He was Kathryn's twin brother after all, and she had been friends with Kathryn since they were all in diapers. So, it wasn't like she was unaccustomed to spending time with the boy or even to passing notes with him. He was cocky in front of the other jocks, but for the most part, he was a fairly down-to-earth guy, and Regina got along with him well.

So, Regina didn't understand the feeling-the discomfort. Still, it was there. It swirled in her gut and made her wary of agreeing to meet up with the boy. What did he want to talk to her about?

Her mind instantly flashed back to that morning, to her little exchange with Emma Swan. Regina's heart began to race. She had thought the hall to be empty but for a few no-names, but maybe she had overlooked someone. Had David seen?

Maybe she was just being paranoid. Surely he just wanted to talk to her about the upcoming game. The cheerleaders were set to do a dance routine during halftime, so maybe he needed to ask her something pertaining to that. Or maybe...

Regina shook her head quickly, shaking away the swirling thoughts plaguing her mind. It wouldn't do to dwell on it.

Regina waited for the teacher to turn her back again before looking over her shoulder and nodding subtly to David, agreeing to meet him after school before their respective practices. She could only hope that it was nothing to be concerned about.

* * *

The breeze felt a little too cool as Regina made her way toward the edge of the field, her cheerleading skirt leaving her long toned legs entirely bare to its assault. Her quick steps bounced in the springy grass, causing her high ponytail to swish from side to side. Her heart rate quickened as she saw David up ahead, already waiting for her.

Regina's hands remained planted firmly on her hips as she stepped up to the boy, her blue, silver, and white cheerleading uniform matching his own football gear. He grinned at her, and she did her best to return the smile.

"Hey Regina," he said. "Thanks for meeting me."

"Of course," Regina replied with a tilt of her head. "Is everything okay? I assume this has something to do with the game tomorrow night?"

David's brows furrowed for a moment before his expression leveled with understanding. "Oh, right, the dance you guys are doing. No, I'm pretty sure everything is good to go for you all on that front. Coach had the sound system checked and everything."

"Oh, okay then," Regina replied, and though her expression remained cool, her pulse only quickened. She could think of nothing else that David could possibly want to speak with her about, and then the racing muscle plummeted into her stomach when his next words confirmed her earlier fear.

"I actually wanted to talk to you about that Swan girl," he told her, and Regina had to swallow roughly to keep from choking.

She paused, doing her best to appear confused as if she didn't instantly know who he was talking about. He seemed to buy it, because he chuckled at her expression and further clarified.

"Swan," he said again. "_Emma _Swan. She's like number one in our class or whatever."

"Oh yes, right," Regina said, keeping her voice as even as possible despite the fact that she could practically feel her body quaking. "What about her?"

"Well, I saw you guys talking this morning," he said, and Regina was surprised to find that his tone wasn't mocking or teasing. Still, she felt sick to her stomach. What if he later teased her for it? What if he told everyone? What if he and his friends bullied Emma even more than usual?

Before Regina could splutter out any excuses or explanations, though, David said, "So, I was wondering if you could do me a favor?"

Confused, Regina managed to choke out her response. "A…a favor?"

"Yeah," he replied. "I know you and Emma aren't friends or anything. I just figured you were talking to her about some student council crap or tutoring or something, not that you would need it." Regina let her breath out in one long hiss, but David didn't even notice the way her entire body seemed to collapse with her relief. "Anyway, so since you can talk to her and everything, I was wondering if you could try to convince her to come to the game tomorrow night. Could you?"

Regina suddenly felt like the world was spinning too quickly. She shook her head to clear it out and held up a hand. "Wait, wait," she said, shaking her head again. "You want me to convince Emma Swan to come to the game tomorrow night?"

"Well yeah," he told her, nodding. "I'd ask her myself, but she'd probably just say no since she doesn't really know me, and most of the guys pick on her and stuff. Besides, you know the other guys would give me shit for talking to her, but _you _have a good excuse to talk to her, so she'd probably listen to you. Right?"

"I…" Regina was terribly confused. Why in the hell would David Nolan want Emma Swan to attend his game? Regina shook her head gently once more. She felt as if the entire world had suddenly tilted on its axis and everything was distorted to the point that nothing made sense. Was she suddenly in an alternate universe?

Too many horrible scenarios flitted through Regina's mind in that moment, scenarios of David and his friends pranking the nerdy girl or humiliating her, and a surge of protectiveness blasted through Regina's chest. Her expression hardened and turned cold as she asked, "Why are you suddenly so intent on having Emma Swan at the game?"

David chuckled lightly. "Well," he said, glancing around quickly, "I'm not. I'm doing this for Neal."

"Neal?" Regina asked, brows furrowing. Neal was a good friend of David's and yet another jock. Regina had never spoken much with him despite the many times he had tried. She found his voice annoying and the peach-fuzz on his face that he refused to shave positively repulsive.

David merely nodded, so Regina huffed out an annoyed, impatient breath. "Elaborate," she demanded. "If you expect me to do you a favor, which would actually be me doing _Neal _a favor, apparently, then I require details. I won't lead a girl into a situation to be bullied, David."

"Oh no, no," David said quickly, shaking his head. "It's not like that. I swear. Neal actually _likes _her, like…_likes_ her. That's why he wants her to come to the game tomorrow. I think he wants to impress her or something."

"Neal," Regina said plainly, her expression a mixture of confusion, disbelief, and disgust. "_Neal Cassidy _is actually _interested _in Emma Swan. This is what you're telling me right now?"

"Yeah," David laughed out. "He totally is. I thought it was weird too, but he said that he's always been 'into smart chicks'."

Regina's face scrunched. "He's never even met her, has he?"

"Nope," David told her, grinning. "He just sees her in the hall a lot, and she's in one of his classes or something. Anyway, I owe him a favor and he's cashing in. That's what he asked me for…to get her to come to the game, but I've never really talked to her either. Then I saw _you _talking to her this morning, so I figured since _you _owe _me _a favor, then you might be willing to do this for me."

"Since when do I owe you a favor?" Regina asked, and she hated the way her stomach swirled, nauseated, as she thought of Neal Cassidy crushing on Emma. The sick swirling only intensified as she pondered if Emma could actually return his feelings once made aware of them. Oh god.

"Since last summer," he answered, raising his eyebrows. "Remember? You got totally wasted at me and Kat's party when Mom and Dad were out of town, and then we all played 7 Minutes in Heaven, and you and me ended up in the closet together?"

"Oh," Regina nearly whispered, her cheeks flushing a soft pink. "Right."

"Yeah," David said, smiling. "I never told anyone what you confessed to me in the closet that night, okay? I _won't_ tell anyone either, because I don't think it's anyone's business, not even Kathryn's, so this isn't an ultimatum or anything. I just would appreciate it if you could do this for me as like…I don't know…a thank you, or something?"

Regina swallowed thickly, her gaze latching onto the ground in front of her feet. She couldn't meet David's eyes in that moment. She barely remembered that ridiculous party other than the fact that it had begun with Kathryn shoveling shots down her throat and had ended with her and David in a closet together, him trying to kiss her, and her drunkenly confessing that she believed she was gay and didn't want to kiss him. He'd been shockingly cool about it, saying that it was totally fine with him and that he really hadn't wanted to kiss her anyway because it would have felt like kissing his sister. It had actually strengthened their friendship, and Regina was still surprised that he had never betrayed her by telling everyone. He was still the only person she had ever told.

Sighing, Regina nodded against her chest before straightening her spine and meeting David's gaze once more. "All I have to do is ask her to come to the game?" she asked, voice softer and a bit more timid.

"Yeah, totally," he replied quickly, nodding. "Neal said that he would take it from there."

Regina sighed as she nodded again, agreeing. "But she won't be interested," she said, rolling her eyes and turning to walk away.

_She better not be interested_, she thought, her heart racing again.

David laughed as he ran to catch up to her. He slung an arm around her shoulder, and Regina sighed as she wrapped her own arm around his waist. "I know," he agreed with her, laughing, "but he thinks he's got a chance. I just figured I'd let him find out on his own that he doesn't."

As they walked toward the school to meet up with their respective teams, David squeezed Regina's shoulders and lowered his voice as he said, "Besides, with the way she dresses and stuff, I always figured she was gay."

Regina's eyes practically jumped out of her skull as she snapped her head up and looked at him. He grinned knowingly at her, but then he just bumped her playfully, said, "Love ya, kid," and ran off toward the locker rooms. Regina watched him go, unable to slow her heart or stop her smile.


End file.
